


Too Late

by Aelig



Series: Batfam server January (extended version) event [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Abandonment, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Dick Grayson is Ric Grayson, Gen, He's tyring, Loneliness, Ric Deserves to be Angry, Ric Grayson Deserves Better, Ric Needs a Hug, Ric is alone, Ric is salty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28531386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelig/pseuds/Aelig
Summary: "Ric glanced at the mirror, very intent as he was to always be able to recognize a client. It seemed important to him, even if he couldn’t explain it.And then, he didn’t have the time to think that his mouth already opened. “Oh, you got to be kidding me.”“I am very much not,” said Bruce Wayne, installed on the backseat of his taxi like it was a fucking limousine."OR: Ric finds himself driving Bruce Wayne to Gotham.
Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Ric Grayson, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne
Series: Batfam server January (extended version) event [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2090016
Comments: 18
Kudos: 97
Collections: Bat Family 18+ Discord Server January Prompt Event





	Too Late

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Marzue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marzue/gifts).



> Hey eveyrone! I hope you're all okay!!
> 
> And also Happy Near Year!! 
> 
> Marzue asked me to write about Ric so I wrote about Ric :heart: And obviously I had to gift it to her :heart:
> 
> Thanks so much to Lore for betaing me!! :smek:

Dusk was slowly falling on Blüdhaven. Colors faded away from the sky to leave room for some gray and dark blue. Clouds were low, but centered on his left - he wouldn’t fear rain tonight. 

A breath exited his mouth, and Ric let his head rest on the steering wheel for a minute. He was tired. His head also started to give him a bad time three hours ago and hadn’t stopped since. Luckily, he had been able to stay focused the whole time. And it hadn’t been worse exactly - just more and more annoying. 

He couldn’t wait to sleep it off. 

A soft sound interrupted his thought process, and he raised his head to look at the dashboard of his taxi. He had a new client booked - probably the last one for the night. 

Ric straightened in his seat, checked everything - including himself - was at least presentable enough before turning on the car. The street where he was supposed to get his client from wasn’t too far away, and there was no traffic jam on the way. It wasn’t an unlikely occurrence in Blüdhaven - sometimes, gang wars happened and blocked the traffic. That was a thing.

He stopped at the exact address given to him, and sent his usual message to inform of his arrival. The back door opened not long after. The client climbed in and closed the door right away, effectively cutting out the harsh cold wind outside. 

Ric glanced at the mirror, very intent as he was to always be able to recognize a client. It seemed important to him, even if he couldn’t explain it.

And then, he didn’t have the time to think that his mouth already opened. “Oh, you _got_ to be kidding me.”

“I am very much not,” said Bruce Wayne, installed on the backseat of his taxi like it was a fucking limousine.

Ric pondered an instant with the - very tempting - idea to just kick him out and be done for the night. Sadly, he needed the money.

“Where are we going?” he asked, deciding to just pretend he was… someone else. And to ignore the biggest elephant in the room he ever saw.

And he _grew up_ with elephants.

“Gotham. Wayne Manor,” answered Wayne immediately. 

Ric narrowed his eyes. 

“I broke my car,” said the man.

It sounded like a very convenient excuse. 

“Right,” mumbled Ric before sliding back into the traffic. He could just - not talk. Let the drive be silent, get his money at the end of the course, and that would be it. 

All in all, a very tempting idea. Almost as tempting as his precedent - which he sadly couldn’t go through with. 

And it seemed like it would just work perfectly, at first, as Wayne stayed silent, focused sometimes on his phone and sometimes on the view outside his window.

It all changed when they left Blüdhaven behind them.

Wayne cleared his throat with the very obvious intent to attract his attention. Ric didn’t look at him. Wayne repeated the action. He continued to look at the road and ignored his client. Wayne did it a third time. Ric still didn’t give up.

Wayne sighed. Ric 1 - 0 Wayne. 

Seconds passed then melted away in minutes, and Ric thought he was finally left in peace. 

He wasn’t.

“So… How are you?” asked Wayne out of nowhere. 

Ric sent him an incredulous look via mirror. Wayne seemed incredibly serious. 

“Why would it matter?” he questioned, slowly, trying to decipher every intent of the man on his back. 

Wayne didn’t move - only furrowed his brows a little. “I’m your father. Your-”

“No,” Ric cut him out right away. “My father was John Grayson. You are no one to me.” And Wayne had made it clear enough that it went both ways. It wasn’t like Ric had any memory to cry on, anyway. Ah.

Wayne clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth. Ric didn’t care. 

“I raised you for the last fifteen years - for longer than John Grayson raised you,” he protested. 

He sounded like a child who had been denied his favorite toy, and Ric hated that he was in the position of the toy in question. He would not let himself be reduced to that - he didn’t remember much about himself, but he still knew he would have fought against such an idea. 

“Well, I don’t remember it, and it’s not like you tried really hard to be my _father_ since I’m here.” 

He almost spat out the word - because he couldn’t bear himself to associate a word like this, designating a person full of love and caring, to Bruce Wayne, a man who had no problem showing him a video of his _accident_ but couldn’t even try to act like he was at least caring a little. 

Not like Ric would accept anything from him, anyway. Probably. 

Anger simmered under his skin. He wouldn’t have had any problem waking up to a different family than the one he remembered - he could bring himself to understand what kind of events could lead to that. But these people - Bruce Wayne and his whoever they were, children? - hadn’t…

They hadn’t _felt_ like a family.

“I’m trying now,” argued Wayne, probably as some sort of olive branch. 

“Maybe it’s too late for that.” 

Wayne gritted his teeth again. This man didn’t seem to like being told no. 

The silent filled the car again. Ric was glad for it; hopefully, they would reach Wayne Manor without another sound being pronounced.

Apparently, Wayne was very determined to ruin his evening, and started talking again halfway through Gotham. “Why are you being so difficult?” 

“You’re aware that I’m an adult and not a little kid, right?”

Wayne’s eyebrows frowned even more. “Yes. And?”

“And, stop talking to me like that. You’re not making me appreciate being in your company by acting like you do.”

It seemed to do the trick and the man finally closed his mouth. 

In another life, maybe, Ric would have wanted to be part of this so-called family. If they were nicer, kinder maybe - if they had really tried with him. But they hadn’t, and as much as Ric could feel the call for independence and the deep need to do things by himself, he would have appreciated someone having his back. He would have appreciated not being forced to sleep on the street or in strangers’ houses. Hell, he would have just appreciated not being _alone_. 

And that was the real problem. They had pretended to love him, to want him - but the truth was, they wanted _Dick_. And Ric - Ric wasn’t Dick. He wasn’t sure he would be Dick again, to be honest. And he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life as Ric being watched with hope by people supposing to be close to him and who only waited for him to die and disappear into nothingness, like he never existed at all. He wanted people to like him for himself, not because of the person they used to know and wanted back. Because then - they didn’t really want or like Ric.

And Ric knew that. 

He didn’t want to get his hopes up. They had made themselves quite clear on the subject, and Ric wasn’t sure to be able to trust them anyway. 

In another world, in different circumstances - maybe Ric would have been given the chance of still being part of this family, even without being Dick.

Not in this one, though.

They entered Gotham without any more attempts at small talk. Ric took the road to Bristol and Wayne Manor, and the rest of the drive passed quietly. No more words were spoken. The Manor’s gates finally appeared, and Ric stopped his car in front of it. He needed money, sure, but he wasn’t desperate enough to go on these grounds. Who knew, maybe they would try to keep him prisoner in hope for Dick to come back. 

“We’re here.” He did the rest as usual - announcing the price, waiting for the client to pay and get out, pocket any tips.

Wayne gave him at least three times the real price as a tip, all in _cash_. Ric hesitated to give it back to him, because he really, really didn’t want his money - but he also really, really needed it, so he swallowed his pride and pocketed it.

Wayne stayed in the car, though. He was deep in thought, expression hesitant, on a reflect of what Ric’s had been a few moments ago.

“I… am sorry. I’m not good at it.” 

Ric snorted - that was an understatement. 

“I know that I haven’t done things properly, and you have all the rights to resent me for that. I- I hurt you. But I want to get to know you - who you are now. I want to have a chance to be your father again.” 

Ric felt his precedent resolve faltering as the words - because it was too good, too _perfect_ for it to be real, wasn’t it? There was probably some sort of trap somewhere, and Ric had to protect himself for the future disappointment. He couldn’t… He couldn’t let himself _hope_. 

“I want to be in your life,” said Wayne - Bruce?- quietly, and he sounded so sad, so sincere, that Ric really thought of _trying_.

“Please, Di-Ric.”

And _this_ sealed it.

Ric felt coldness invading every fiber of his being, and he didn’t try to stop it. Because, of course - and despite the shake of his heart, he had no intent on backtracking from his decision. His eyes fixed on Wayne like two blocks of ice, and his voice matched them in degree.

“I never asked to have you in my life. Not now, not ever. I’m not sure I will ever ask for it, actually. When I see what happened to me - what I can’t remember but can see on my body, and what you showed to me - I really want nothing to do with you or your people. You haven’t brought me anything but troubles and hurt. I just want to live my goddamn life in _peace_. Now, _get the fuck out of my car_.”

Wayne was startled. Ric didn’t give a fuck - he continued to watch him with his hard, burning eyes. He saw the moment Wayne gave up, and somehow it hurt, too. Ric was glad to be listened to, but - was he worth fighting for, in his so-called father’s eyes?

(He probably wasn’t. _Dick_ may be - but not Ric. Never Ric.)

Finally, Wayne left the car without another word. Ric kept watching him as the man entered his family’s grounds, as he disappeared from his view, as the gates closed again before his eyes.

It was ironically fitting.

Ric closed his eyes and dropped his head on the steering wheel for a second - or maybe two. He just needed to get his breath back, and to calm his heart and mind who couldn’t agree on anything, and to let his headache cool down a little more. It was- It was alright. Everything was alright.

He would not sob and cry and beg for forgiveness or whatever they thought he would do. He would keep going, even if it was hard, even if he craved human contact and warmth, even if he wanted nothing else but to be part of _something_ again. 

He was worth more than whatever they could propose to him. 

Ric turned the engine back on, his mind slowly drifting away in a whole world of _what if_ that was way too good to ever be real. He could still play pretend, even if his reality was full of the gray and black and white of Gotham’s sky. His dreams, at least, would be full of beautiful colors. 

No one would ever get them away from him.

(It was only when he arrived in view of Blüdhaven that Ric realized he had never turned on his GPS on the way to Wayne Manor.)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it!! 
> 
> All the love for you Marzue :heart:
> 
> Take care everyone, a lot of love!!


End file.
